farmer12888

I am thinking of very heavy leaf springs and not some bouncy coil springs. These springs, such as from a heavy-duty truck, would be welded between two steel plates with the hammer mounted on the top plate. There would be 10-12" of arc maybe on the springs. Any thoughts?

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. What I know about the height is what the seller told me-84" tall, since the hammer is in transit. Some of the Fairbanks hammers apparently were different heights, depending on the year made, based on the literature I have. I am hoping that there is something like a pulley that can be removed to clear the door. Making a ramp by the pallet and pulling the hammer off is a great idea. I hope it works, since that would save me on renting something to lift it with. Drilling the floor and pulling from a bar or pipe is also a great idea. The only lift I would need to do then is to lift the hammer up on an elevated base inside the garage, if I decide to elevate it. A conversation I had today concerning vibration and shock to the floor raised an interesting point. Has anyone ever tried to isolate their hammer on a thick sheet of steel with a number of very stiff springs welded under the plate and perhaps to another bottom plate that rested on the floor, instead of building an isolated concrete foundation? Sort of a spring sandwich between tow heavy plates. Would it lessen the force of the hammer blows too much with the springs compressing any? It seems it would eliminate the need for an isolated foundation.

Once again, a bunch of good suggestions. I love the idea of a couple of beams and 4 bottle jacks to lift the hammer, (other than the cost) but this is 2500# concentrated in a small base area. It would take some big beams to handle that weight in such a small area. There is no way to get a metal or wood beam big enough through the hole in the throat of the hammer. The door header is 84" without the trim. That is the exact size of the hammer. Laying the hammer down would obviously solve the height problem, but laying down a 2500# hammer that is bottom heavy would require heavy equipment to keep it from falling, not to mention how to stand it back up safely. I may have to brace and cut the header for clearance. I still need to get it off the pallet.

Thanks everyone for the tips and advice. This is the value of these forums. We don't all need to crushed one at a time. The reality is that the hammer will be standing on a pallet sitting in front of my garage doors. It won't be in a truck laying on its side which would make placement easier. Somehow, I have to get it off the pallet, onto the ground, through the door of exactly the height of the hammer and in place about 20 feet up in the garage. The question is how to safely accomplish all of that. I can't come up with any way to lift it off the pallet except an engine hoist. I could move it once through the door with pipes under it and sliding on them. If I try to elevate it on a pad, I need to lift it up again to get it on the pad.

OK. Some progress. Yellow Freight would not even unload it at their terminal, since they are not shipping it. RAC Transport wanted $290.00 and maybe would discount if I paid in advance. I found a local trucking/cartage company that will unload it and bring it to my house for $80. That is very reasonable and about what I had hoped for from the beginning. That only gets me on the pallet in front of my garage, however. Somehow, I have to get it off the pallet and in the garage and in position. I found a 2-ton engine hoist at Harbor Freight for about $189 that will extend pretty high, and I think I can lift the hammer with it and chains. I may buy it with the money saved on the delivery and have it for the future, since it folds up some. Renting a concrete cutting saw for the slab is $125 for the day plus about $50 for a blade, at a local rental store.

Unicorn: Yes, my garage is attached. Yes, I am going to saw the slab and put in a foundation for the hammer - probably 3 feet of concrete or a combination of concrete base with wood beams on top. See any concern there? I have called a number of tow truck companies. Nobody will touch it - either their boom is supposedly not heavy enough or they won't think about tilting anything at all or they are not willing to chain to anything and lift it. I guess they make enough with towing cars so why mess with anything unusual. I went to a rental place this afternoon to see what they could offer. Only thing they could suggest would be a forklift rental at $125 a day plus $50 for a heavy tilt trailer to haul it on or $150 more for delivery and pick up. I have contacted the seller to see if the shipper they are using has a local terminal to see what options that could give me.:mad

Unicorn-The problem is that the hammer is being shipped long distance on a semi. The semi will only deliver to a business. I am putting the hammer in my garage at home, so I have to have a way to get it unloaded at a business and then brought to the house. That is what the forklift guy will do-unload onto his smaller truck and bring the hammer to the house and unload it at the house. I don't think the tow truck will haul it on his boom, although, maybe he could set it on the bed and bring it to the house chained down?????

Thanks Unicorn for the tow truck idea and arranging the chains so the lift points tilt the hammer for height clearance. Great idea-I was getting to the point of breaking out the saw for the top of the door if I had no other choice. The forklift guy is already $225, but I guess a tow truck bill in addition is better than rebuilding a door header.

Thanks for the suggestions so far. The pipe and lubricant ideas may be the way to go to move it on the floor once inside. I have a seam right at the door and porous concrete on the outside that will make lubricant difficult to use outside and while clearing the doorway. The hammer has an anvil that can be removed, but it must weigh 1000#, and it looks like it must lift out over the frame. I don't know how I would get it out, even if it would come out. It is essentially just a block with one ear and no real lifting points. I may have to try to take the flywheel off to get it into the door for height.

My 75# Fairbanks is arriving soon on a pallet. It weighs about 2500 pounds. I am putting it in my 2-car garage. I have hired a forklift guy to unload it from the semi and bring it to the house, but he can't actually get into the 7 foot garage door. How do I get the hammer into the garage? I will have to take it off the pallet, since the hammer is 84 inches tall and the door is 84 inches. Once it is in the garage, how do I get it elevated at all to get it onto any type of stand? I need advice soon.:o

"A Blacksmith's and Hammerman's Emporium" by Douglas Freund can be bought at Centaur Forge on sale right now for about $16.00. The same book is about $165.00 at Amazon.com. That's right, ten times the price. Thanks guys for the reference to the book and what it includes on Fairbanks hammers. I ordered the book.

Thanks everyone for responding so quickly. I appreciate the information. I briefly spoke with Wallace before buying the hammer. I was able to get them to answer the phone, despite everything I had read about them on various forums. The guy took some time with me, and I appreciated it. They don't seem to have much in the way of parts but have the drawings to make them, if you want to pay. I also spoke to Sid at Little Giant. What a nice fellow and very helpful. He sold the Fairbanks stuff to Wallace. If any of you have an LG, get his 2 DVD set on rebuilding them. You will learn a great deal about your hammer. It would be great to get a list of Fairbanks owners together to exchange information, ideas and resources. I'll keep the info if people are interested. What about railroad ties on end as a base rather than a concrete pour?

I am new to the forum. I just purchased a 75# Fairbanks that is being shipped to me now. Wondering if anyone has any manuals and any other information. Should I pour an isolated, reinforced slab? Are there parts out there? How about dies?

What would make this forge better than NC or Forgemaster? I am looking for a forge to do general blacksmithing and would want to forge stock a few feet long.